Editing Recusancy (section)

==History==
After the [[English Reformation]], from the 16th to the 19th centuries those guilty of such [[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|nonconformity]], termed "recusants", were subject to civil penalties and sometimes, especially in the earlier part of that period, to criminal penalties. [[Roman Catholic|Catholic]]s formed a large proportion, if not a plurality, of recusants, and it was to Catholics that the term initially was applied. Non-Catholic groups composed of [[Calvinism|Reformed Christians]] or [[Protestant|Protestant dissenters]] from the [[Church of England]] were later labelled "recusants" as well. Recusancy laws were in force from the reign of [[Elizabeth I]] to that of [[George III]], but were not always enforced with equal intensity.<ref>[[Roland G. Usher (historian)|Roland G. Usher]], ''The Rise and Fall of the High Commission'' (Oxford, 1968 reprint ed.), pp.{{nbsp}}17–18.</ref>

The first statute to address sectarian dissent from England's [[official religion]] was enacted in 1593 under Elizabeth I and specifically targeted Catholics, under the title "An Act for restraining Popish recusants". It defined "Popish recusants" as those {{Blockquote|convicted for not repairing to some Church, Chapel, or usual place of Common Prayer to hear Divine Service there, but forbearing the same contrary to the tenor of the laws and statutes heretofore made and provided in that behalf.}}

Other Acts targeted Catholic recusants, including statutes passed under [[James VI and I|James{{nbsp}}I]] and [[Charles I of England|Charles I]], as well as laws defining other offences deemed to be acts of recusancy. Recusants were subject to various [[civil disabilities]] and penalties under English [[Penal law (British)#English statutes on religious nonconformity|penal laws]], most of which were repealed during the [[Regency era|Regency]] and the reign of [[George IV]] (1811–30). ''The Nuttall Encyclopædia'' notes that [[English Dissenters|Dissenters]] were largely forgiven by the [[Toleration Act 1688|Act of Toleration]] under William{{nbsp}}III, while Catholics "were not entirely emancipated till 1829".<ref>[[James Wood (encyclopaedist)|Wood, Rev. James]]. ''The Nutall Encyclopædia'', London, 1920, p.{{nbsp}}537.</ref>

Early recusants included [[English Dissenters|Protestant dissenters]], whose [[Creed|confessions]] derived from the [[Calvinist]]ic Reformers or [[Radical Reformation|Radical Reformers]]. With the growth of these latter groups after the [[English Restoration|Restoration]] of [[Charles II of England|Charles{{nbsp}}II]], they were distinguished from Catholic recusants by the terms "nonconformist" or "dissenter". The recusant period reaped an [[Eighty-five martyrs of England and Wales|extensive]] harvest of [[Forty Martyrs of England and Wales|saints and martyrs]].

Among the recusants were some high-profile Catholic aristocrats such as the [[House of Howard|Howards]] and, for a time, the [[Plantagenet]]-descended [[House of Beaufort|Beauforts]]. This patronage ensured that an organic and rooted [[English culture|English base]] continued to inform the country's Catholicism.

In the [[English-speaking world]], the [[Douay-Rheims Bible]] was translated from the [[Latin Vulgate]] by expatriate recusants in [[Rheims, France]], in 1582 (New Testament) and in [[Douai, France]] in 1609 (Old Testament). It was revised by Bishop [[Richard Challoner]] in the years 1749–52. After ''[[Divino afflante Spiritu]]'', translations multiplied in the Catholic world (just as they multiplied in the Protestant world around the same time beginning with the [[Revised Standard Version]]). Various other translations were used by Catholics around the world for English-language liturgies, ranging from the [[New American Bible]] and the [[Jerusalem Bible]] to the [[Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition|Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition]].